EMIT V3 operation

[distracted]

One problem I found with touch free controls is that in order for the card to register the punch (the first thing you see IIRC is the scrolling bars) you have to take the card out of range of the control.

Not true - as Fatboy says when within range of the control the display will change and show the control number. Then once you've moved out of range the scrolling bars will appear and continue for 15 seconds. So just keep glancing at the card as you pass through and you'll know whether you've punched.

[Adventure Racer]

Fair enough - that was down to the information I was given when I first used it then - I was told to look for the scrolling bars to check I'd punched Anyway, last time I used this it worked fine just waving the card in the right direction and checking for the scrolling on the way out (you don't want to be staring at your card whilst still riding your bike!)

[Axel]

Looks likes both SELOC and SO had problems with SI over the weekend. Do everyone a favour change to EMIT.

[Oldman]

No! No! No! Please don't ever condemn us "must twist ourselves round to punch" orienteers to a life without SI, which is so superior - just put it in the hole!!

[awk]

>Do everyone a favour change to EMIT.

>
I've never had anything but unpleasant experiences with EMIT. Events I've been to have had problems with it, the use of the card is both awkward (if needing to put it in properly) and ambiguous (wave it around, wait for lights to flash, read the card, or what?), and so on and so on.

I'm sure all these things would resolve themselves with time and practice (they must do, or else there wouldn't be the fans there are), but in the meantime my experience of SI has been far more pleasurable.

[NeilC]

Looks likes both SELOC and SO had problems with SI over the weekend. Do everyone a favour change to EMIT.

Nothing wrong with SO's SI kit over the weekend - just that the instruction to synchronise the units was overlooked!

For anyone who is remotely interested we run all of our events in training mode to avoid someone having to program the units for each event (which is significant when you run 30+ events a year). I tried to produce a fail-safe set of instructions
http://www.southdowns-orienteers.org.uk/using_si_kit.pdf
though in this case they clearly did not meet that criterion.

[HOCOLITE]

SI Emit and computers in general the problems are usually down to the user and their experience. I seen big problems with download at emit events and the same at SI and they are generally down to the people using the software not having done something. So this debate is irrelevant. Everyclub has to learn to use the software and the knowledge has to be diffused so there are going to be blips. Often the users can follow the basic instructions but whenthere is something slightly different the problems arise.

[kedge]

I've said it before & doubtless I shall say it again but perceived SI failures are nearly all down to human error, normally on the computing side.

EMIT's use in the UK is mainly confined to a small group of clubs largely using BAOC's experienced operators to help them administer events. They are familiar with the system and softare and use it week in, week out. If mistakes occur, which they do, they rapidly get corrected, so that the general orienteering public is not usually aware of a problem.

The administration of SI in the UK doesn't work in the same way. Many more clubs have bought SI kit than EMIT. They rely on volunteers rather than professionals, the personnel using the system changes from event to event, with the result that mistakes are made, frequently because users aren't entirely familiar with the system. The problems which arise, whether it be network problems, clubs trying to get one more event out of old batteries in units before changing them or whatever, are almost entirely down to human error. Unfortunately, this gives the impression to some orienteers that SI is less reliable than EMIT.

I doubt whether there is very much to choose between the sysyems. Personally as a competitor I find SI much easier to use than EMIT, although the newer EMIT card does give the user some useful feedback.